TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Health Ministry, on July 10, announced that 67 percent of Indonesians believe that vaccines are effective against Covid-19 while 33 percent of the respondents are either unconvinced or refuse to be vaccinated.

This was revealed in an online seminar that discussed the level of people's acceptance in Covid-19 vaccine in four Indonesian regions, which was hosted by the Padjadjaran University, Health Ministry, and three other state universities.

The research was done by the Health Ministry’s research and development department from April to May this year. The survey also shows that 99 percent of respondents are already informed about the Covid-19 vaccine with 7.6 percent still against the mass-vaccination program.

Based on the respondent’s education, most of the anti-vaxxers come from a relatively high education background up to bachelor’s degree comprising 18.6 percent. This group outnumbers the people rejecting the covid vaccine from a lower education level.

“Is this due to the hoaxes which add to their disbelief on the vaccine or are there other reasons,” said the ministry's spokesperson for Covid-19 vaccination program, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, citing the Padjadjaran University’s official website on Thursday, July 15.

Despite the significant number of people against Covid-19 vaccinations, the spokesperson said the government will continue to accelerate the mass-vaccination program. The Indonesian government is targeting to perform 2-3 million daily inoculations.

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VALMAI ALZENA KARLA